When we last experienced a DRIPPIN comeback, the boys were cavorting around a camping site spouting some nonsense about a “free pass.” Their debut year hasn’t exactly been consistent, but they’ve released a few excellent tracks. Sometimes you just have to dig a bit to find them.
After a lengthy hiatus, the group returns with a hard swerve toward edgier material. “Edgy” in boy group language often means shouty shouty shout-a-thon, but Villain is cut from different cloth. The track merges its puffed-up-chest cockiness to a funky electro beat and swinging chorus. There isn’t a single element within the production we haven’t heard countless times before, but it comes together to form a strong, enjoyable track. I’m a bit disappointed that DRIPPIN’s title tracks have leaned toward such generic tropes (you can do better, Woollim!). However, they’ve leveraged those tropes in ways that make for satisfying results.
Villain is perched over a cool, bubbling bass loop. It almost reminds me of Boys’ Republic’s fantastic The Real One from years ago. The sound isn’t as prominent here, and verse two is predictably interrupted by one of those pesky percussive breakdown. But, there’s a fullness to Villain’s arrangement that gives DRIPPIN a sturdy backbone to work with. Similarly, the song’s hook is simple but potent. I’m not doing cartwheels of excitement over the refrain, but the catchy repetition is already stuck in my head. For their part, DRIPPIN lend the melodies plenty of panache. When main vocal Hyeop lets loose during the finale, Villain unveils hidden potential. Every element could have been twisted into something bigger and more unique, but I have a feeling Villain will find a long-lasting home on my playlist.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Maybe my fave for the day! It was cool but also catchy without getting unnecessarily edgy! The MV was AMAZING!! It is way beyond cool! And even though it was flashy I wasn’t distracted for even a second from the song! I guess the stages will decide how much this grows on me! 🙂
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This is a solid kpop song for whatever gen we are in right now. Sure it has great moments and some just OK moments, but on balance its a solid boy band kpop song, well-delivered.
The bass line is of course great.
I am not doing cartwheels, but I clicked buy in iTunes, and I may even go watch a music show too and check out the choreo.
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Absolutely on point! I thought this song would be a disaster in the making for DRIPPIN. Hell not. It’s a standout for them. Villain is just a quintessential K-Pop classic. The production is sleek, straightforward, and just honestly good. Villain is surely gonna be on repeat.
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Probably their best song since debut, for me
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I don’t have the soft spot for electro-funk that Nick does so I’m less likely to be interested in a track like this unless there’s something else to pull me in (my fondness for VICTON as a very recent example). Maybe this is the universe balancing out all the generic shout-a-thons I enjoy so much. I’ve got a playlist for this kind of thing but it’s not really exciting me.
ALL OF THAT SAID, I am GENUINELY SHOUTY UPSET about the “7Villaz” intro track, because that industrial sound hits all my buttons and could have been one of my favorite songs of the year. Seriously, listening to the two tracks back to back almost makes me hate the version they released. As for the rest of the EP, “Switch” sounds like exactly the same song as “Villain” – I might actually like it a little better, possibly because I’m not haunted by the industrial version that might have been.
I rather like ”Delusion”, too – it starts off as a solid example of the Taemin/SF9 style hazy-dance track that I really like then builds up in to a surprisingly powerful chorus (which is almost enough to make up for that f-ing pre-chorus snare build). This might be my favorite track from them, although I’m afraid I haven’t been interested enough in them for that to be a high bar.
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I dig this album. I didn’t think I would. Makes me want to check out more stuff of theirs.
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I came back to say that it’s growing so much on me. Despite the members saying it’s a dark concept I think the song is actually bright without the mv. I adore all the little adlibs, they add a whole lot of fun to the track, specially the ‘wee-hah’ and the ‘ou!’ near the end. The whole thing is just electrifying.
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